Victory: A Story

The final battle. Nothing could describe it. A woman stood on a hill surveying the scene before her. Would she have been in her earthly body, her eyes would have been blinded by the radiating light, and her ears would have bled from the thunderous sound. As angels and man alike clashed against those destined for hell. Even she put off light, but it paled in comparison to the angels, who were fighting alongside man. Their swords were made of diamond, each strike sending fractured light in all directions. The demons carried swords of fire, and the light their bodies put forth had a blood red hue. For what purity and righteousness they were once made to carry as angels of God were forever tarnished by their deep hatred and sin.

The woman sought one man with her gaze and quickly found him, even among the chaos. Her earthly husband, fighting with the strength and determination of all mankind. We have come a long way from the garden, she thought to herself. This day would not be the turning of a chapter, but the closing of a book that would precede the opening of a new book, a book filled with endless pages and ink.

She suddenly felt a tug on her heart, a stirring of passion, the time had arrived. Behind her, the hill twisted and rose into a mountain. With one last gaze at the battle, she turned and went, mirroring the same strength and determination she saw in her husband. She, who had once worn fig leaves, was now adorned in golden armor, her brown hair was loose and blowing as she climbed higher. She had piercing green eyes and though now her face was flawless, she remembered long ago, her husband tracing the freckles on her nose and cheeks… how he had loved her imperfections.

With one last hoist, she pulled herself onto the peak of the mountain. A dark smoke hung in the air as she straightened and waited. A strong gust of wind blew the smoke apart and she could see the silhouette of an angel watching the war below. There was a moment of silence, like a calm before a storm. “How does it feel to sleep no more, Eve?” The angel asked, still not turning. His voice had a mesmerizing musical sound to it, but Eve could sense the barely concealed hatred beneath his tone. She drew the sword that was sheathed at her side, made of the same pure gold that adorned her. The action was met with a chuckle that made her skin crawl. “…he will crush your head and you will strike his heel, is that what this is?” The angel turned toward her and she almost gasped at the beauty she saw. In the garden, she remembered this beauty, how he had enticed her with it. His words had dripped with honey then, as she had no idea what he was. But now she held herself straight, and didn’t waver her gaze, beneath that beauty was an ugliness so vile that if he were to appear as he truly was, he would be a dragon, a monster, a serpent to be crushed underfoot.

She took a few steps closer, “I am here to defeat you.” The angel laughed again, this time his voice filled the space around her, and she was tempted to cover her ears. “Your Messiah has already seen to that.” He took a few steps closer to her, his body, though human in appearance, seemed to slither. “You stand defeated satan, now it’s my turn…I will humiliate you, father of lies and son of pride.” As she spoke she felt herself fill with righteous anger, the grip on her sword tightened and she gave him her fiercest gaze.

Instead of attacking, satan started walking around her, taking slow calculated steps and keeping her gaze. Eve was reminded of a hungry lion, sizing up his prey. “You ate the forbidden fruit woman, why would God trust you with this task?” Eve stood her ground. satan continued,”What if he sent you here to be humiliated?” his footfalls stopped in front of her, inches from her face he then whispered, “…are you really forgiven, Eve?” There was a pause that seemed to stretch for years, Eve remembered grabbing the fruit, how it looked so pleasing to the eye. Its flavor was still on her tongue to this day, as well as the taste of tears when she saw her son Abel killed by his brother Cain. She watched and felt the sting of her sin till the day she died, and even while she slept she knew in her soul that the world above was continuing to water the ground in blood and suffering and sin. It’s all my fault! She thought in despair, desperately fighting the weight of shame so great that she feared it would crush her.

But then she remembered, the Lord walking in the garden with her. “You are my beloved Eve,” He had told her, His footfalls matching her own as they enjoyed each others company and the beauty around them. “Someday you will know how much I love you.” She smiled, “…more than Adam does?” The Lord stopped and turned her toward Him, His eyes full of wonder and tenderness. “Eve, I love you more than you can ever imagine. I love you and Adam both uniquely and completely.” He turned His gaze to the garden around them, “This paradise is just the beginning of all I have for you.”

As fast as the shame had come, the light of God’s love for her cast it out. She felt satan recoil from her as though stung. Her eyes came back into focus as well as her strength. “You can’t sway me with lies! I will not be tricked again!” She raised her sword in fury and felt the wind blow around her. The clouds parted above and light shone on the mountaintop, causing every shadow to flee. Real fear flashed through satan’s dark eyes, he turned his gaze to the heavens and screamed, Eve took her chance. She raised her sword high and with all the strength she could muster she brought it down on him. In rage, satan screamed again, covering his face with his hands. When they parted, Eve could make out a grisly wound that she knew would be forever etched into his “perfection.” No more would he be able to see himself pridefully. No longer would he be able to boast, now he was truly nothing.

The heavens continued to open filling the mountaintop with the sound of rushing water and worship. satan seemed to shrink in fear, the mountain began to crack straight down the middle, Eve was lifted just as it crumbled beneath her by Michael, the Archangel. Satan, barely gripping onto the last stone began to beg and plea, but arms of fire shot out of the crack, wrapping themselves around him like burning chains until he was ripped from the ledge and drug deep into the ground. The gap suddenly closed, resealing itself as if nothing had ever happened. Eve watched as on the battlefield below, the same thing repeated, wisps of flame shot out of every crack and crevice, wrapping and dragging each demon down into the earth until all that remained was God’s army. Michael landed atop the restored mountain and smiled at Eve. “This is victory.” He said and all the angels from the heavens to the battlefield suddenly gave a loud shout, the ground shook and the clouds of dust and smoke departed leaving a brilliantly blue sky.

And so this is how the story ends, or more appropriately, how one book closes and another opens. What will this new story contain? Not even Eve knows, as there has never been a story that began with victory, until now.

 

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